Month: May 2016

Some things may seem innocuous but words have infinite power. When you compliment a black woman by telling her she looks like another ethnicity, you’re saying to her that the traits that make her attractive are her non-black characteristics. It’s not endearment, it’s offensive.
It’s saying “you’re too beautiful to be just black” as though being “just black” isn’t enough.
We aren’t beautiful inspite of our blackness, we are beautiful because of it.

Whenever someone says feminists are ugly, I’m just like “sooo…?” Claiming that feminism being filled with women who don’t fit arbitrary beauty standards 100% validates the movement. It absolutely gives more credence to why absolutely necessary feminism is.
Whenever someone calls feminists ugly, all they’re doing is trying to discredit women based on their own ideas of what’s attractive. Men’s voices are heard irrespective of aesthetics, yet women are expected to look a certain way for their voices matter. Moreover, womem can’t be too aesthetically appealing lest her opinions be discounted on the grounds that she’s too pretty… if feminists are ugly, then I’m okay being ugly. There are worse things to be.

The sense of entitlement that the purveyors of the “friend zone” have is so annoying. Since you are a supposed “good guy” a woman must date you, whether she likes you or not? Haaaska.
a “good guy” is just a man who lusts after beautiful women and expects the women to want to be with him, despite him bringing nothing to the table except that entitlement.
The worst is you can list any number of reasons for not liking someone, but the only reason they will listen to is “I have a boyfriend,” because they are only willing to respect her rejection if it’s supported by another guy. Moreover, one shouldn’t need to list reasons, not wanting to date someone is reason enough. The idea that you can convince someone to like you is tantamount to saying you know that person better than they know themselves, which is the height of narcissism. Of course the ‘good guy’ cannot accept a situation where a woman can think for herself, and has complete ownership of her own feelings and choices.

Kerry Washington is the hero we didn’t know we wanted, but we definitely needed. After Adweek photoshopped her pics, she released this statement.
“Look, I’m no stranger to Photoshopping. It happens a lot. In a way, we have become a society of picture adjusters – who doesn’t love a filter?!? And I don’t always take these adjustments to task but I have had the opportunity to address the impact of my altered image in the past and I think it’s a valuable conversation. Yesterday, however, I just felt weary. It felt strange to look at a picture of myself that is so different from what I look like when I look in the mirror. It’s an unfortunate feeling.”
Yes Mama, in a choice between what is right and what is easy… always choose right.

Piers Morgan is huffing and puffing because Beyoncé’s new album is not about placating male ego or continuing to cushion them the way patriarchy has been doing since time immemorial.
For him to equate this album as Beyoncé “going political” as if being black is a trend, is typical of the 2-bit journalist he is. Also Beyoncé has ALWAYS been political in her music. Songs like Creole and Black Culture were celebrations of her roots. Just because you weren’t watching doesn’t mean it wasn’t happening.

In a world where the apology is the punctuation to the woman’s sentence, it’s so endearing to watch so many strong women in pop culture owning themselves and shunning the requirement to be demure. Beyoncé, Kerry Washington, Taraji P. Henson, Rihanna, Shonda Rhimes, Viola Davis, Zendaya Coleman… the list goes on and on.
Intersectionality is not just about destroying white supremacy, but about destroying black partriarchy. Free black women are always expected to be supportive of emancipation movements, but remain in the background. Black women and their magic ARE the revolution ‪#‎boybye‬ ‪#‎Lemonade‬

Intersectionality matters so much because while we may be equal as women facing partriarchy, the opportunities offered to white women far exceed those offered to black women. The same goes for us in our quest to fight racial injustice – black women may be black, but we’re still women. Black partriarchy is real and it’s a pandemic. Moreover, classism acts as a divide – i can’t pretend my middle class upbringing didn’t afford me a better life than a Swazi girl who grew up in a mud hut kaLonhlupheko, a name which literally means “a place of poverty.”
As Swaziland tries to move towards achieving His Majesty’s dream of Vision 2022, the Kingdom needs to acknowledge the disparities in wealth. Furthermore, there needs to be a clear definition of what Vision 2022 will mean to the 67% of the population living beneath the poverty line. I believe in my country. I believe in her future. But a lot has to be done in the present to guarantee that future for all her people.

With self-titled, Beyoncé introduced millions of people to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie when she quoted her “We Should All Be Feminists” speech on ***Flawless. With the release of Lemonade, she quoted the poetry of my 3rd favourite famous feminist, Warsan Shire (Chimamanda is my number 1) throughout her visual album.
The poetry covered everything from infidelity to insecurity, to oppression and prejudices. Even if you don’t like Beyoncé (which you’re wrong for), it’s undeniable the impact of introducing such powerful, thought evoking works of literature from some of the most profound wordsmiths to ever grace the Earth.
Also, Chimamanda is Nigerian and Warsan is Somali, so big ups to the African continent being represented on the most important record this side of 2013.

Pop cultural representation is so IMPORTANT. If you have always seen yourself in media, then it doesn’t seem a big deal. As a kid who grew up on Marvel comic books, my favorite being Storm, I am so excited that writer extraordinaire Ta-Nehisi Coates will be penning the latest edition of the Black Panther comic, who is the oldest black superhero, and also happened to be married to Storm. Ta-Nehisi is all levels of awesome, and his book is a great glimpse into the realities of racial injustice and dog whistle politics.
Looking at when Black Panther was published, at a time when people assumed Africa was a Tarzanesque jungle (though granted, many still do) to have the most technoogically advanced nation in the entire MCU be from Africa is astounding. Moreover, the movie iteration of the character is laudable. The fact that they addressed the appropriation of Wakanda’s vibranium (indestructible metal) seems to be an extended metaphor for the cultural appropriation that the West is so wanton of, and a direct criticism of the plundering that centuries of colonialism stripped Africa of, especially given in this fictional Africa, Wakanda was never colonised. Also, i want to marry T’Challa. I can be the new Storm if Marvel is hiring… Chadwick Boseman perfect captures the regality of the King, who is the most intelligent member of the Avengers. So much black excellence to be honest.
Now about that Black Widow movie…